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Show The Ogden Valley news Page 10 Volume XXV Issue XV September 1, 2019 The Invasive Phragmites By Shauna Leavitt Those unfamiliar with the history of Utah’s wetlands may see Phragmites and say, “What a beautiful, elegant plant! It looks so graceful blowing along the shore.” However, the plant’s attractiveness and ability to absorb pollutants may not compensate for its negative impacts. Phragmites is an invasive perennial grass that now thrives in much of the wetlands around the Great Salt Lake and other marshes in northern Utah. It grows in dense clusters and normally reaches 5 to 10 feet in height. If the conditions are right, it can reach 15 feet. The patches of grass are so dense that wetland managers are called out each year to rescue duck hunters—who are lost in the Phragmites. Karin Kettenring, associate professor of wetland ecology in the Department of Watershed Sciences at USU, and her research team have been studying Utah Phragmites for the past decade. Kettenring explains why Phragmites is a concern, “We fear it is fundamentally changing the habitat of Great Salt Lake wetlands which are renowned for being a home for migratory birds including waterfowl and shore birds.” The exotic grass most likely started in the Great Salt Lake wetlands after the flooding of 1983. The flood washed out the marshes. When the water levels receded, the salty water had destroyed all the native vegetation in the wetlands. Phragmites then moved in. By 2011, the exotic grass had spread over 24,000 acres. Scientists believe humans inadvertently brought Phragmites to Utah, since birds don’t migrate east and west and birds usually don’t eat the seeds. Someone’s boat may have transported the seeds into Utah. They sat dormant in the soil until the conditions were perfect, then the spread of Phragmites began. Today an average small patch of Phragmites, about 20 feet square, can spread a couple yards a year just from the stems it sends out above and below the ground. However, research has shown it’s not the stems that cause the most reproduction—but the seeds. Karen Mock, associate professor in the Department of Wildland Resources and a long-term collaborator on this project helped Kettenring with the genetic work. They tested the genetics of a lot of Phragmites pulled from the same patches and found many different genotypes—proving the plants came from different seeds, not the stems of neighboring plants. With these results, Kettenring’s lab discovered the best way to control the invasive grass is to first control the seed production by mowing the grass mid-summer to keep it from spreading, then, in the fall, spraying the area with herbicide three years in a row. An herbicide approved for use in wetlands can be used—such as Rodeo. If the Phragmites has been there only a few years then the seeds of the native vegetation will still be in the soil, and they’ll come back on their own. However, if the Phragmites has been there for a long time, then re-seeding of native plants will be necessary. To determine the best way to re-seed wetlands, Kettenring partnered with Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah Division of Forestry, Fire & State Lands and David England—one of Kettenring’s past graduate students. England has spent extensive time in the lab determining how to help seeds germinate. Emily Martin, Kettenring’s current graduate student, will also help with the UDWR reseeding as she searches for techniques to make seeding more effective. Ultimately, their goal is to restore native plant communities to keep Phragmites from coming back, and to restore habitat for important migratory birds. Note: This article is being reprinted from Utah Public Radio’s Wild About Utah. It originally aired April 16, 2018. For more information, visit <https://wildaboututah.org/invasivephragmites/> Causey Reservoir Kokanee Salmon. Photo by Bill Carnahan of Huntsville. Subscriptions available for out-of-area residents at $18 annually. Send payment with mailing address to: The Ogden Valley news PO BOX 130, EDEN UT 84310 The Utah Symphony: On Stage Ogden Join the Utah Symphony for an astronomical performance at Weber State University’s Val A. Browning Center, 3950 W. Campus Dr., Ogden, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. Don’t worry if you can’t afford a seat on the next SpaceX flight, the Utah Symphony will get you to the stars with their music! The theme for the evening—The Planets! Concert highlights will include a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the opening of Abravanel Hall with Beethoven’s overture The Consecration of the House. Revisit every planet in our solar system with Holst’s beloved tour guide, The Planets. Expand into new corners of the universe with contrasting cosmic sounds by Haydn, Messiaen, and Saariaho, and re-live the drama and anticipation of the greatest space story ever told with the Main Title of John Williams’ Star Wars. Artists will include Conductor Thierry Fischer, Chorus Director Barlow Bradford, and sopranos and altos of the Utah Symphony Chorus. Upcoming performances in Ogden will include The Music of John Williams, Thursday, September 19; Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Thursday, October 24; Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3, Thursday, November 7; and A Broadway Christmas with Ashley Brown, Thursday, December 5. All performances will be held in the Austad Auditorium at the Val A. Browning Center on the WSU campus at 7:30 p.m. except for a Monday, December 23 performance at 7:00 p.m. at Peery’s Egyptian Theater in downtown Ogden—Here Comes Santa Claus. For more information, visit <https:// utahsymphony.org/ogden-events/> Enjoy the Arts! Support Our Veterans at This Year’s George E. Whalen Veterans Tribute Run & Chili Cook-off The 12th annual George E. Whalen Veterans Tribute Run and Chili Cook-Off will be held Saturday, October 12. Co-sponsored by the George E. Wahlen Veterans Home and the First United Methodist Church (MarriottSlaterville), this event raises funds to support veterans residing at the George E. Wahlen Veterans Home. The runs (5K and 10K) and 1.5 mile walk start at the George E. Wahlen Veterans Home (1102 N. 1200 W., Ogden) at 10:00 a.m., and ends at the First United Methodist Church (1339 W. 400 N.) in Marriott-Slaterville. The chili cook-off begins at 10:30 a.m. This year, many activities are planned: “DeStaTe” the eagle from the Ogden Nature Center will return; Utah Military Academy band and singers will perform; The American Red Cross will be accepting blood donations between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.; younger children can enjoy a bounce house and play ground; and Star Wars characters will be on hand! Bring the family and enjoy chili and these activities. Support for our military veterans will be greatly appreciated through participation in the runs/walk and the chili-cook-off. It is our way of giving back to those who have given so much for our country. Please visit the following web site regarding fees and registration www.fumcogdenut. org and follow the prompt for the veterans run information. You may also call First United Methodist Church at 801-393-5662. ACCIDENTcont. from page 1 of the mountain, hitting rocks and trees. The vehicle finally came to a stop on its side across both lanes of traffic where its content, a load of ice, spilled out of the truck from a large gaping hole in the side of the The driver added that he made a last-minute truck’s cargo decision, when he saw the field on the rightcompartment, hand side of the road, to steer the vehicle in this which was ripped open as a result of the acci- direction. dent. The driver was transported to McKay Dee The incident was called in at about 11:45 Hospital with lacerations to his head and posa.m., with the truck being hauled off the moun- sibly to his arm. tain in the early evening hours after Tour of In addition to a damaged barbed-wire fence Utah race events concluded. owned by Snowbasin, the truck received damTrappers Loop Accident - Another acci- age to its roof, both doors, and its load of condent occurred in Huntsville August 5 at the bot- crete mix. tom of Trappers Loop after another commercial truck lost its brakes. According to the sheriff’s investigative report, a call came in at about a minute before 9:00 a.m. that a large truck had crashed into a field at the bottom of Trappers. The report states that the truck, traveling north towards Huntsville, drove off the right side of the road, rolling the vehicle multiple times before coming to rest in the abutting field. The driver, who survived the accident, stated that after he lost his brakes, he was unsuccessful at his attempt to stop the vehicle by pumping them and pulling on the emergency brake. He also indicated that he did not stop at the brake check near the summit of Trappers Loop before heading down into Huntsville. Sylvia Smith of Eden took this photo July 30 at 2:13 p.m. of an accident that occurred in Ogden Canyon after a motorcyclist tried to pass two cars near the popular rock climbing wall. The victim survived the incident. |